Irfan Pathan becomes 1st Indian to be part of CPL players’ draft

Irfan Pathan created history after becoming the first Indian cricketer to be included in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) players’ draft.

The player draft for CPL 2019 was announced on Thursday withIrfan being the only Indian in the list.

   

If Irfan does manage to find a buyer in the auctions then hewill also become the first Indian cricketer to play in a major overseas T20league. Over the years, BCCI has maintained a tough stance in not allowingIndian cricketers to participate in T20 leagues like BBL, CPL, BPL, Ram SlamT20 but all of that is set to change with Irfan’s inclusion in the CPL 2019layers’ draft.

There was however, no official word from the BCCI on whetherthey have actually given an NOC to Irfan.

Irfan, not a part of IPL for last two years, was seen as acommentator during IPL 2019. His last appearance in IPL was a solitary game forGujarat Lions in 2017. Irfan left Baroda last season to join Jammu &Kashmir as a player-cum-mentor.

Irfan has represented India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24T20Is, picking up a total of 301 wickets. He has also scored over 2,800international runs.

A record 536 players from 20 overseas countries and the WestIndies have been included in CPL 2019 players’ draft.

The likes of Alex Hales, Rashid Khan, Shakib al Hasan, JofraArcher and JP Duminy will be up for grabs along with Caribbean stars such asAndre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope.

“Prior to the draft, each franchise will have the option toretain and/or acquire a maximum of six players, although there is no obligationto do so,” announced CPL on its official website.

“The fact that so many players have registered for our draftis a testament to the stature of our league. Playing cricket in the Caribbeanis something that all players look forward to, and the CPL combines that allurewith a high standard of cricket. We expect that this year’s tournament will beno different,” said CPL Tournament Operations Director Michael Hall.

CPL 2019, which was originally slated to begin from August21, will now kickstart on September 4. Agencies

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